William tayloe



(No Model) W. TAYLOR.

NAIL 0R SPIKE.

No. 272,600. I Patented Feb. 20,1883.

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NITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM TAYLOR, OF PITTSBURG, PA., ASSIGNOR OF TWO-T HIRDS T0 ISRAEL 0.PERSHING AND SIMEON BISSELL, OF SAME PLACE.

NAIL OR SPIKE.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 272,6C0, datedFebruary 10, 1883.

Application filed September 15, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM TAYLOR, a citizen of Great Britain, residingat Piitsburg, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, havemade a new and useful Improvement in Nails and Spikes, which will bereadily understood from the following description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 represents a frontelevation of my improved nail or spike; Fig. 2, a cross-section of theshank of the spike on the line a a; Fig. 3, a transverse section of itstapering point on the line b b.

The object of my invention is to produce a nail or spike possessinggreat strength and stiffness proportioned to its weight, and one thatwill drive easily and hold tenaciously without impairing the fiber ofthe wood.

The head of this nail or spike may be of any desirable thickness and ofany convenient diameter, and centrally arranged in axial line with itsshank. However, the shape of the head is immaterial, provided it answersthe purposes for which it is intended. The shank may be of any lengthand size adapted to such uses as nails, spikes, bolts, and pins are putto in fastening together articles of wood or other material. The pointshould be long, tapering, and round, so that when being driven into woodit will easily displace its fiber and enter without'much resistance; andto increase or improve the holding quality of the spike or nail in thewoody fiber, that part of the shank immediately above the taper ofitspoint should be roughened.

This nail or spike I prefer to make of steel and give the head 0 anydesirable shape or form; but in order to accomplish theobject of myinvention, and thereby produce a superior nail, I make the body or shank(Z three-cornered or triangular in transverse section, which shape givesa maximum degree of strength and stiffness proportioned to its weight.The three corners of the shank d are parallel with each other from thehead 0 to the commencement of the taper at the point 6, being of uniformstructure between those parts. The point cis round, smooth, andtapering, constituting a regular'sharp cone, somewhat greater in lengththan the diameter of any part of the nail below its head. That part ofthe shank d above the taper of the point e, and extending therefromtoward the head 0 about one-third the length of the shank, is providedwith a series of parallel nicks,f, arranged transversely or diagonallyto its axis, or otherwise given a roughened surface, the interveningportion of the shank, or that part existing between the head and nicks,being left perfectly plain.

This construction of nail is such as enables it to be readily andaccurately driven into the hardest wood without danger of splitting it,making a hole no larger than it can completely fill, and when driven theshape of the nail is such as to enable the fiber of the wood to lieclosely against its shank, while the nicked or roughened surface nearthe point improves its holding and retaining property.

As nails and spikes are generally used for fastening two or more piecesof wood together by passing entirely through one piece into the other,there is no necessity for having the nail roughened,except at that partentering the secondary piece of wood. 7

I am aware that nails having a series of nicks in the shank are not new;but heretofore in such cases the nicks were located on the shankimmediately underneath the head, extending but a short distancetherefrom, such nicks being incidentally made by roughening thegripping-dies to assist in holding the blank during the heading process,and such nicks,

instead of being beneficial to the nail, were and are rather injurious,as they tend to weaken its shank at a part requiring the greateststrength, whereas myimproved nail is designedly nicked or roughened at apart remote from the head, producing no weakness of the shank, butassisting very materiallyin giving it a retentive hold in the wood.

1 am also aware that nails and spikes having a triangular shank havebeen in use for a. long time, and therefore are not new. I am also awarethat nails and spikes having a round conical point have heretofore beenused and ofitself comprises nothing new. Therefore I lay no claim to anyof those devices when separately considered; but

I do claim- 1. As a new article of manufacture, a headed nail or spikehaving a shank of triangular form, provided with a round taperingconical point.

4. A headed and pointed nail or spike the shank of which from the headto the taper of 1 2. A headed nail or spike haying a shank of the pointis of uniform diameter, and provided triangular form, provided with aseries of trans verse or diagonal nicks, notches, or indentations on oneor all of its sidesf at or near its point.

8. A headed nailor spike having a shank of triangular form, terminatingin a conical point and nicked, notched, or roughened from the taper ofits point about one-third of its length upward toward the head,theintervening portion of the shank being plain.

with a nicked 0r roughened surface at or near the point, substantiallyas and for the purposes herein before set forth.

WILLIAM TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

JOSIAH W. Plus, I. O. PERSHING.

